


The Brave and the Bold

by Sirius04L



Series: The Chronicles of The Flash and Arrow [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Adorable Barry Allen, Episode: s03e08 The Brave and the Bold, Fluff and Angst, Insecure Oliver, M/M, Moody Oliver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:09:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24556702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sirius04L/pseuds/Sirius04L
Summary: Oliver and Barry just started...whatever they were now and Oliver has doubts. Not about his feelings for Barry but if he deserves the chance at being happy. When Barry flashes in from Central City to help with Harkness, Oliver is reminded of the darkness inside of him and all the reasons why he needs to stay away from Barry. Too bad Barry is just as stubborn as Oliver is.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Oliver Queen
Series: The Chronicles of The Flash and Arrow [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763857
Comments: 3
Kudos: 78





	The Brave and the Bold

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who took the time to read, comment and leave kudos!

Oliver walked down the stairs, followed closely by Roy and Diggle. He’d told Roy the truth, he had no intention of letting the matter drop. All those years ago he had made a promise to protect his city and Oliver would be damned if he was going to stop just because A.R.G.U.S. was involved. 

“What about this A.R.G.U.S. angle?”

Felicity led him and the others over to her main computer monitor. “Well, A.R.G.U.S. wiped all evidence of their agent’s death after he was killed. Or at least, they thought they did.” She smirked slightly and leaned forward to tap a button on her keyboard. “Our boomerang victim, Kai Wu.”

“His profile was so clean I should have known it was an A.R.G.U.S. cover,” Diggle muttered, his arms crossed over his chest. It was apparent to the rest of them that he was upset about not noticing that something was off before.

“Well, now that we know he’s A.R.G.U.S. maybe Lyla can get us a lead?” Roy asked looking up at him. 

Diggle shook his head. “If this is an A.R.G.U.S. thing then Lyla’s going to want it to stay that way.”

Oliver kept his face impassive, but the frustration was bubbling below the surface. He knew enough from his own dealings with Waller and A.R.G.U.S. that he should have noticed something about it too. “Then tell her to stop letting people get killed in my city.”

“You really don’t care about my marriage do you?”

“Well, I would. If you and Lyla were still married.” Oliver and Diggle had a few things in common, one of them being how they handled things they saw as their own personal failures. Oliver knew that Diggle would have a small smile on his face from the banter and that it would lighten the mood and the burden for the man - even if only a little bit. He walked away from where he placed his bow and quiver so he could take stock of what weaponry they had left and what they would possibly need to go after the murderer and deal with A.R.G.U.S. if they showed up again. 

“Ah...Oliver?” Felicity called, her heels clacking against the floor as she followed after him.

He took a deep breath before turning and facing her. “Yes, Felicity?”

“Have you talked to Barry lately?”

“Last night actually. Why, is something wrong?”

“No.”

“Then why the interest?”

She looked slightly guilty. “I just...I have been rooting for you two since I realized we weren’t going to work out and just how much he admired you. And when he was here last year he was _so_ into the Arrow. I want you two to be happy. I mean, think about it, you guys just balance each other out in ways that we never would have. I didn’t know if you were into guys or not, but I could still think about it...not like that!” She said turning red. “Okay, maybe a little like that.”

Oliver shook his head but smiled softly and crossed his arms over his chest. “We just started...whatever this is. I’m not even sure it's going to go anywhere, Felicity. I’m not exactly the type of man that Barry’s family would want him to bring home. And I’m - ow,” He huffed rubbing where she smacked his arm.

“Don’t you dare finish that thought. You are not the same man child you were before the island.” She completely ignored him when he muttered _manchild?_ under his breath. “So you don’t have the sunniest disposition. You protect people. You care about people. And I don’t give a damn about what you think, you are a good man. Barry sees that too. He looked up to the Arrow before he knew that you were under the hood. When he did find out his respect for both parts of you skyrocketed.”

He smiled softly. “Thanks...and I promise I’m not trying to mess this up.” He let his arms fall as she smiled and walked away. Once he was sitting at one of the work tables he let his shoulders fall slightly as well. Whatever she said, and whatever Barry said or may think, he had a darkness in him and he didn’t want that to spread to Barry. 

*~*~*

“Don’t touch that.” Oliver gripped the table he was leaning on, his knuckles turning white at the strength of his grip. “Or that. It’s a jettingson arrow. It uses compressed- “

“Compressed CO2 to jettison high-tensile strength polymer cables,” Cisco said smiling as he ran his fingers over it anyway. 

“Yep,” Oliver said, taking in a deep breath. 

“Since when did we start selling admission to the Arrow Cave?”

Oliver opened his mouth and started to say something before looking over at Felicity and pointing at her. He tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice and off his face but he could see the looks from Caitlin and Roy that told him he hadn’t succeeded. “You see what you’ve done?” 

His focus was drawn from her ‘my bad’ face back over to Cisco when he heard the engineer whispering to himself over by his suit. “I have so many ideas for improvements. And this, oh oh man. This, this is the bomb. And I mean, red is so much cooler than green, am I right?” He said directly to Roy. 

“I’m really starting to like this guy,” Roy said smiling cheekily at Oliver. 

Oliver just held his head in his hands, willing away the headache that was starting to pulse behind his eye. He ignored the conversation that was happening around him and tried to calm himself down. Before he could ask why Barry wasn’t with them his phone rang. “Diggle.”

He listened to what he had to say, Roy walking towards him as the others watched. “Our target just hit A.R.G.U.S. and Lyla's there.” 

He and Roy both walked over to their respective cases and grabbed their bow before suiting up and heading to the A.R.G.U.S. facility on their bikes. Together they slipped in one of the broken windows and quickly took in the situation. Oliver was just able to get an arrow off in time to prevent Lyla from being cut down by one of the boomerangs. He and Roy ran at the man while Diggle and Lyla ran for cover, the pair of archers attacking with all they had. 

It wasn't until the boomerang wielding man managed to get some space between himself and Oliver that the fight started to tilt in his favor. He could just see the pair of boomerangs flying at him when a red blur passed in front of him. "Barry,"he thought. Everyone in the room looked over at the Flash and after the mad-man recovered he used their distraction toescape behind a smokescreen. 

Barry held the two boomerangs in his hands, but his eyes were only on Oliver. He shrugged and smirked before leaving the building. 

"What was that?" Lyla demanded as she, Diggle, Oliver, and Roy converged near the center of the room.

Oliver let out an internal sigh of relief. If A.R.G.U.S. didn't know about the Flash or Barry, Oliver wasn't going to be the one to tell them. The less they knew about Barry the better. "Better question, who attacked you?"

"And don't tell him it was an internal A.R.G.U.S. matter." Diggle added on. Oliver relaxed slightly; he knew Diggle wouldn't just expose Barry but hearing it loosened the knot that had formed in his chest the moment the younger man made an appearance.

"His name is Digger Harkness, former A.S.I.S. His specialty is weapons and technology before he went rogue. Started selling his services to the highest bidder. We caught him three years ago."

"Well, looks like he escaped," Roy said, looking at Oliver before back at the other two. 

Lyla sighed. "Not exactly. Harkness's skills made him an ideal recruit for Task Force X."

Diggle's face went from worry to barely concealed disappointment. "You mean the Suicide Squad."

"They had an op in Tanzania, assassination of a local war lord. But the war lord had bigger guns, mission went south, and the team had to be sanitized."

"You mean killed, Lyla."

There was a quick look of regret on her face before she regained her composure. "Waller couldn't be reached. It was my call. The mirco bomb in Harkness's neck must have malfunctioned."

Oliver listened quietly, his eyes had been flicking back and forth between the couple. Their problem was on the forefront of his mind, while somewhere in the back of it he was trying to repress his worry and fear about Barry being there. "We need to assume that every A.R.G.U.S. facility is compromised. There's only one place we can keep you safe." The three men watched and waited as Lyla tied things up with her men before escorting her to the van, Oliver and Roy flanking it as theyrode back to the foundry. 

*~*~*

Barry hopped off the Salmon ladder and passed the bar to Cisco. "I don't see what's so hard about that." He leaned on the desk in front of Caitlin and Felicity.

"I'm not sure that she should have called you." Felicity rested her hand on Caitlin's shoulder. "Oliver doesn't play well with others." She continued when the pair of them looked at her. Barry frowned slightly - Felicity was the only one that knew about the pair of them, but that didn't seem to be the reason why she was against Caitlin calling him earlier. 

"Ah, come on. Barry and Oliver kicked ass last week." Cisco called over, swinging his arms back and forth as he got ready to attempt the salmon ladder. 

Barry smiled at her. "Yeah."

"They were in, like, a league of their own," Cisco struggled to get out as he was lifting himself off the ground. 

"That was like, a one time thing."

"The dude was tossing around exploding boomerangs. They needed some back up." Barry didn't mention how close Oliver was to being impaled by the ones he had snatched out of the air. "And I need some dinner. That salmon ladder made me hungry for sushi." Barry rushed out in a gust of wind. Oliver had been avoiding giving him any details about the case since he and the others had left Central City the week before. It had been bothering him and he was hoping to get some answers out of him during the visit he planned for the following weekend. Now it looked like he was going to get those answers sooner rather than later. 

*~*~*

Oliver walked in, quickly looking around for Barry, thankful when he didn't see him there. 

"Are you okay?" Felicity asked, Caitlin and Cisco following her over.

"Can't work for A.R.G.U.S. without making a few enemies. I'm sorry to involve all of you in this." She looked over as Diggle dumped out pieces of a boomerang onto a tray. "Is that A.R.G.U.S. property?"

"Its evidence," The man said simply. 

Oliver watched the pair of them, the air in the room tense. A sudden rush of air blew past him and he looked over just in time to see Barry getting ready to shove a bite of food into his mouth. He went to say something but Caitlin beat him to the punch.

"Hey. Secret identity?"

"They're married," he said, waving his chopsticks to indicate Lyla and Diggle. "Or together. Whatever. He told her about me." Barry shrugged after the pair in question simultaneously declared that they weren't actually married. Oliver watched as Diggle shook his head and the realization hit Barry. "You didn't?"

"I keep secrets for a living, man."

"Ah, my bad." He said and went back to the sushi in his hands. 

Lyla, besides declaring that she and Diggle were not married, finally decided to speak up. Or try to. "You're...you're - "

"The Flash. Sushi?" He asked, holding the tray out. Lyla just shook her, the look of shock still on her face. Oliver and the rest barely looking amused at the carelessness Barry was showing. And now A.R.G.U.S. knew about Barry - something else for Oliver to worry about. 

"We need a location on the man who's after Lyla." Oliver looked at Felicity, wanting to get the focus off of Barry and the best way he saw to do that was to bring everyone else's worry about Lyla back to the forefront. "His name is Digger Harkenss."

"Well the first step is to work the evidence." Barry had shoveled down his food quickly and walked over to them.

Oliver forced a smile onto his face and the others winced slightly at the sight of it. "Barry, can I speak to you for a moment please?" He walked away from the ground and across the room, feeling the eyes on them. "I appreciate your help back at A.R.G.U.S. but we have this handled."

He kept his face neutral so Barry didn't see the concern and doubt that he was feeling about the entire situation, and not just Lyla's wellbeing. It took all the self control he could muster at that moment not to cave instantly when Barry's face took on a look of hurt. "But you don't want to team up again?"

"Things work differently here. Starling City is meaner." He looked away as he spoke. Barry was new to this, he didn't need to see this kind of darkness - he never needed to see it as far as Oliver was concerned. The younger man was kind and what hardship he had suffered in the past hadn't changed his outlook on the world. Not like Oliver's past had changed him.

"I seem to remember helping you pretty good last year and that was without powers. I've been practicing everything you taught me. I'm casing new environments, I'm not running in blind," Barry said eagerly.

Oliver had to physically turn away to gather his thoughts quickly. Barry couldn't have practiced much, it had barely been a week since they had worked together. And while Oliver knew that Cisco was more than capable of setting up scenarios to test Barry and help him train, he also knew that a week was not enough to really hone those skills. Even if seconds for him was

who knows how long to Barry. But it was Barry, and even before he realized his feelings for the younger man he'd had a hard time saying no to him. "We do this my way."

The smile that erupted over Barry's face was so bright that Oliver had to look away again in case one of the others saw how happy that simple look made Oliver feel. "Yes, this is going to be awesome. What's our first move?"

"We need to reassemble the evidence. It will take some time - " Oliver began and Barry rushed past him. The tray that Diggle had dumped the bag onto was suddenly filled with five fully intact boomerangs. "But it will be worth it," He finished as Barry set the tray down. He didn't know how he could forget just how eager Barry could be. 

"Rad, these are a bit more teched out then the one you brought to Central City. 3D printed polymer with a circuitry weave," Cisco explained as he examined one of them.

Roy spoke up for the first time and Oliver had a feeling he'd been observing everything that had happened over the last few minutes. The guy was more observant than Oliver wanted to admit sometimes. "Some of Harkness's boomerangs exploded."

"Oh yeah, there are grooves in here that could definitely pack a C4 charge."

While she was more conservative in showing her feelings, Oliver could tell that Caitlin was just as eager to get involved and figure out how and why Harkness was doing what he was. "Maybe if we found out where Harkness got the supplies we can use that to track him."

Cisco shook his head. "These weren't made by Kaboom Boomerang."

Roy looked confused, looking over at the engineer. "Kaboom...Boomerang?"

"Yeah, you know. He has exploding boomerangs."

Barry shook his head and smiled as he leaned against a table. "That's not your best."

"Really, it makes perfect - "

"Cisco," Oliver interrupted, the headache from earlier threatening to make a reappearance. "If Harkness didn't make them we need to find out who did."

"And who he made the buy off of," Diggle added, his arms crossed back over his chest. While the man was keeping his stoic appearance up, Oliver knew that he was extremely worried for Lyla. 

Cisco looked over the boomerang again. "Markos. See this collapsible node design? Dead give away. That's his signature."

Oliver looked down, but he figured that the only ones who really understood what Cisco was talking about were Barry, Caitlin, and Felicity. "We need a location on this - " He looked at Cisco.

"Klaus Markos."

Oliver stole a glance at Barry, who smiled at him, while Felicity typed. He walked up behind her, watching the screen as the info came up. "No known home address or place of employment for Markos, but he was arrested last year by a one Quentin Lance."

The archer looked over at Barry. "Ready to play visiting CSI again?"

Barry smiled and changed before anyone could blink, his suit folded neatly on one of the tables. "Sure thing, partner."

Oliver rolled his eyes and walked away from the group. "Not all of us can change in a...that quickly, Barry. Give me a few minutes."

Barry nudged Felicity. "He almost made a joke. And you were worried about him not wanting me here."

~*~*~

The pair walked out of the foundry together and Oliver headed towards his bike. "You know, I could run us there."

"Not happening, Barry," Oliver said, tossing him an extra helmet.

He barely heard the thinner man's footsteps come up behind him. "Hey."

Oliver turned around and was met with Barry's lips brushing his. He knew that they needed to focus, go to SCPD and get the information that they needed, but he relaxed into the kiss anyway. He set his own helmet down and his hands came to rest on Barry's waist. It stayed soft, neither of them pushing for anything more. Oliver pulled back slowly and let their foreheads

rest against each other. "Hi."

Barry laughed softly and closed his eyes. "Sorry. I've been wanting to do that since you almost got skewered."

Oliver huffed and pulled back. "I was not almost...fine. I was." He sighed and pressed another quick kiss to Barry's lips before mounting the bike and putting his helmet on. "Come on, let's get going." He felt Barry get on and wrap his arms around his waist. Once he was sure Barry was secure he took off; despite his worries about his affect on Barry, Oliver enjoyed the feeling of just being close to him. If it had to end, and he knew it would at some point because he didn't get something this good in his life, he was going to enjoy it until Barry realized he deserved better. 

He felt Barry slide his hands under his shirt and rest against his stomach and Oliver had to fight the rush of want that coursed through him. Barry didn't try anything. Like Oliver, Barry seemed like he was just enjoying the closeness that they got on the short drive to the station. When they got to their destination, Barry gave him a warm smile before walking in with him.

Oliver could see Laurel and Quentin walking out of the break room. "Hey Laurel, Detective. Captain? Cap - Captain, sorry."

"Don't worry about it, it's been a while." Lance said, sipping his coffee.

Laurel looked between the three men before her eyes landed on Oliver. "Is everything okay?"

Oliver smiled. "Oh, it's fine. This is ah - "

"Bart Allen, right?" Lance asked. "You get hit by a bus or something?"

"Barry," The CSI said, a little affronted. "It was lightning."

"Huh, ow. We worked together on a case last year," He explained to his daughter.

Oliver ignored the piercing gaze Laurel was focusing on him. "Barry's a friend. He's in town with Central City Police Department and I was hoping you could help him. He'll explain."

Lance nodded. "Sure."

"Oliver," Laurel said, a predatory smile on her face. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yeah." He said and let her lead him away while Lance and Barry talked about Markos. 

"The Arrow was in Central City."

"This is a follow up. Kind of."

She nodded, following his gaze back to her father and Barry. "And Barry is..."

Oliver sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair. "It's complicated," he said softly. "I'm not really sure. We haven't really had a chance to talk about it."

He heard her chuckle and he tore his eyes away from Barry to look back at her. "It doesn't have to be complicated, Ollie. You're allowed to be happy. We all get to be happy, even with the crap that gets thrown at us. I just didn't expect that to be with - "

He smirked. "A man." She nodded as Barry walked over.

"I got something to go off of," He said smiling.

Oliver nodded. "Let's get going then. Laurel, I'll see you later."

"It was nice to meet you," Barry added. 

Oliver winced as the wicked smile came back to her face. "It was nice to meet you too, Barry. I'm sure we'll get to talk to each other again real soon."

"Ah...yeah. Okay." Oliver led Barry out quickly and shot her a glare as they rounded a corner. He could hear her laugh as they exited the building. 

They walked back to the alley where they'd left the bike, each of them grabbing a helmet. "So Captain Lance doesn't know where Markos may be hiding out, but he mentioned that he arrested him for identity theft. The guy was stealing credit card info for the Russian mob. The - "

"Bratva." Oliver said and mounted the bike. He felt Barry get on behind him and instantly slide his hands back under Oliver's shirt.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

He started up the bike and revved it before answering. "I'm a member," he said and took off before Barry could get another word in. 

~*~*~

Barry arrived at the old factory just after Oliver and Roy had stashed their bikes off-site. "I can't believe you're a member of the Russian mob."

Oliver pressed his lips together. "Former member - probably. We had a falling out last year. This is where they run their cyber crime operation."

The Flash nodded and looked over at Roy. "Nice outfit by the way."

Oliver was glad Roy was more like him, it helped keep his own mind focused on the mission at hand instead of Barry's light-hearted outlook on everything. "This place looks like a fortress," Roy said and Oliver silently agreed. He gave them both a set of orders and after they were gone he checked in on Diggle. Oliver knew Diggle was worried but the man was focused and knew how to handle himself. He made his way into the building, walking quietly but quickly with bow drawn and ready. He sped up when Barry sped by him only to lower his bow when he saw the men unconscious and tied up. 

"I had eight seconds to kill." Oliver surveyed the scene again before looking back at Barry, not saying anything. "Was I wrong?" Again, Oliver just gave Barry an unimpressed look before walking past him. "What?" He heard Barry call after him. 

Oliver kicked the door open and locked eyes with Markos and he couldn't help but smirk when the man tried to run. Barry was there, in front of the man smirking. "My friend wants to have a conversation with you." The archer was impressed when Barry grabbed Markos by his shirt and slammed him against a table that was cluttered with odds and ends before forcing him into a

chair.

"You made this for Digger Harkenss. I want to know where he is." Olivered modified his voice like he normally did and showed Markos the reassembled boomerang.

"Go to hell."

He drew an arrow back and let it fly into the man's shoulder. He saw the look on Barry's face as he backed away, but Oliver was going to get the information that he needed even if he had to bring out the monster that he knew was inside of him. "The only thing that hurts worse than an arrow going in is an arrow coming out!" He gripped the arrow and barley gave it a tug which caused Markos to cry out in pain.

"What, what are you doing?" Barry asked, and the disbelief was easy to hear in his voice. 

"Getting information. Where is he?" He demanded, turning his attention back to Markos.

"I don't know!"

Barry took a couple steps closer, his eyes bouncing between Oliver and Markos. "He said he doesn't know."

Oliver growled, it sounding menacing paired with his rougher voice. "He's lying." He pulled at the arrow again. "If you want to be able to raise your arm again, tell me where he is."

Markos held out a burner phone to Oliver, his face covered in sweat as the pain grew while Oliver moved the embedded arrow around in his shoulder. "Here, Harkness gave this to me. It's encrypted. I had an order ready for him. I called, he came. I don't know where he is, I swear. I swear."

He took the phone and jerked his head towards Markos before walking away to calm down and get out of the dark headspace he was currently in. 

Barry quickly removed the arrow and wrapped the wound before rushing Markos to Lance's office and handcuffing him to a filing cabinet. Oliver hadn't even flinched when he shot that man, when he pulled and shifted the arrow around to cause even more pain. He knew that Oliver had shot someone for information last week in Central City to get him Bivolo's name, but now that he had actually seen it...it was different. He'd never seen this side of Oliver. It was like, out of sight out of mind. But now that he had seen it he couldn't forget it. And he couldn't just ignore it.

He rushed back and saw Oliver looking over the boomerang designs on the computer. "Felicity can crack the encryption. Use this to track down Harkness."

"You tortured that guy," Barry said, walking closer to him.

Oliver stood his ground. It was happening and a lot sooner than he thought he had. At least he hadn't had too much time to get attached, or more attached. "I interrogated him."

"When my friends said that your tactics made you a criminal I defended you because I thought you were supposed to be a hero," Barry started and Oliver's mind flashed back to when Felicity said that Barry had defended him to Detective West and Dr. Wells. "I thought we were supposed to be better than them."

"Barry, you live in Central City. Where it's sunny all the time and your enemies get cute nick-names. You're not in Central City." He knew he had a smile on his face but he knew it wasn’t friendly. It was dangerous and it was meant to hurt. 

"Yeah."

Oliver walked towards Barry, never losing eye contact but trying to keep his voice level."I live in a city where my best friend was murdered. Where a woman I love was shot full of arrows and sent tumbling off a rooftop. Where my mother was murdered right in front of me, so before you - "

"My mother was murdered in front of me too, but I don't use my personal tragedies as an excuse to just torture whoever pisses me off!" Barry said, feeding off the anger that Oliver was directing at him.

"I'm sorry, Barry. I'm not as emotionally healthy as you are," He said and walked past him. 

"What's wrong with you?" Barry demanded, turning to face him.

"When we agreed that you were staying we decided that it would be on my terms. If that is proving too difficult for you, you know your way back to Central City." Oliver finally let his voice raise just enough to make sure that Barry knew the conversation was over. He kept walking out and the grip he had on his bow was turning painful. It was for the best. Barry realizing this now was better than down the road. This way the pain would fade faster. Barry could go back to Central City and move on. Maybe with Iris - that's who he'd been pining after before. 

~*~*~

It was just after dawn and Felicity was still working on decrypting the phone while the others kept eyes on the screen from behind her. Oliver stood at rest, but his eyes were focused on the case with his arrows and quiver. Occasionally they flitted over to Barry who was sitting on the stairs.

"Everything all right between you and speedy?"

"What?" Oliver turned quickly, the tension in his muscles releasing when he realized it was just Lyla. He was more upset that he'd let himself get so drawn into his own mind that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. "Roy? Yeah, we're fine."

"I meant him," Lyla said, glancing over at Barry. Oliver did as well, just quick enough to see Barry divert his eyes away.

"Oh...we had a difference of opinion on the way the world works." Oliver smiled softly, his hands still clasped behind his back.

This time Lyla looked over towards Diggle. "Yep, I know what that's like."

"Well, sometimes they don't see it," he replied, trying to play it off. The last thing he needed right now was Lyla digging into his feelings towards Barry. He trusted Diggle, and personally he trusted Lyla. But Lyla was good and was difficult for Oliver to read at times. He didn't know if this was Diggle's Lyla talking to him or A.R.G.U.S. Lyla.

"There are people in the world that only deal in extremes," she started

"And it would be naive to think that anything less than extreme measures will stop them," Oliver finished. Waller had made an impression on both of them and Oliver knew it wasn't a good one. He may have been headed down a dark path before the previous director of A.R.G.U.S. got to him, but she had shown him how to fully unleash it. And each time he did Oliver could feel something change in his mind.

"Sometimes bravery isn't enough. Sometimes the world requires us to be bold."

"Whatever the personal cost," Oliver said softly and glanced over at Barry again. "It's for the best that he sees this now. Sees that I'm not someone to look up to or someone to - "

Lyla stopped him with a hand on his arm and shook her head. She withdrew her arm and looked over at John. "The ones that are meant to be in your life will make you better. They'll help you heal, help you see the good in you. Maybe for you, it's that kid over there."

Oliver made a face. "Please don't call him a kid."

She laughed softly and turned back to look at John. "I got him." Felicity yelled. "He's in a warehouse on the corner of Infantino and Adams."

Oliver was just behind Lyla as they walked over. "Is that a - "

"A.R.G.U.S. spy satellite? Yeah." Felicity said turning around in her chair with a proud smile on her face. "Thermographic imaging shows ten bodies inside."

Diggle studied the screen, his arms folded over his chest. "Harkness knows we're coming."

"I can track his cell phone's position with this" Cisco grabbed another phone from the desk, syncing it with the data showing on Felicity's screen.

"Cisco, you're with Diggle and Roy." Oliver turned, heading to grab his bow. He stopped in front of Barry, missing the smile that was normally on his face.

"I'll race you there," the speedster said and Oliver nodded, heading out with the rest of them. 

He saw the streak of red as Barry raced past him and the van and saw it again when Barry rushed past him and into the building. He walked in and saw the men tied up, but awake. 

"You're late," Barry said, pretending to look at a watch on his wrist. Olvier knew Barry couldn't see him raise his eyebrow but the look on his face as Oliver's arrow flew past his face was one he wasn't going to forget anytime soon. He watched the man drop and Barry take in the sight. "I knew he was there. He's not dead, right?" He asked after a brief moment of watching Oliver.

"Tranq arrow. Same thing I used on you in Central City." He walked forward as Diggle and Roy came around a corner. 

"Cisco has the van running," Diggle informed them.

"I see you met Harkness's hired muscle," Roy added.

Oliver turned and faced him frustrated. "Harkness isn't here." He turned back, and glared down at one of the men Barry had secured. "Hey, where's Digger Harkness?" His voice was rough.

"Never met him. But he paid us ten gs to give you this." He held up a phone and Oliver took it and looked at Diggle.

"Can I bet you 20 that that belongs to Harkenss."

"What does that mean?" Roy asked looking at Oliver.

"That Harkness played you," Barry said, his own frustration leaking into his voice. Oliver and Barry locked eyes. "We need to get back to the foundry, now."

~*~*~

Oliver ran down the stairs behind Diggle, Roy and Barry behind him. He stopped when he saw Lyla laying still on the same table that Barry had saved him on the year before. All the gathered from the conversation around him was that Lyla was stable for now, but needed operated on.

Diggle looked over. "Barry?"

"Starling General's at Eighth and Wilcott," Oliver told Barry.

Barry picked her up as gently as he could before taking off. Oliver looked at the blood left behind on the table and once Diggle and Caitlin left and glanced at Felicity before walking deeper into the room - he knew she'd get the others out of there. 

He knew Barry would come back to check on him. He didn't need to hear his footsteps to know he was there. They may be on the rocks (could they be on the rocks if things hadn’t really taken off yet?) and for all Oliver knew their friendship was over, but Barry was a good man. He would check on his worst enemy if he thought they were hurting bad enough.

"This is all my fault."

"It's really not," Barry said and Oliver could feel Barry watching him.

Oliver didn't blink, didn't relax. Just kept his gaze ahead as he spoke. "I tortured Markos to give up that phone. None of this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for me."

"I get the feeling you don't say that very often."

"To do what I do, Barry, it takes conviction." He turned and faced Barry who just nodded for him to keep going and let it out. "But more often than not it's the will to do what is ugly. Everytime I do that I'm - I'm trading away little pieces of myself. So you asked what's wrong with me? That's what's wrong because the part that I am trading away is Oliver Queen. I mean lately I've been feeling like there's nothing left except the Arrow." His voice cracked and he could feel his eyes

starting to water. He took a couple steps forward and Barry met him part way. There wasn't pity on his face. It was more understanding than anything.

"I think you're full of crap," Barry said and Oliver went to argue with him but Barry kept going before he had the chance. Barry walked forward so he was inches away from Oliver and took one of his hands. "Look, you've convinced yourself that everything you've been though took away your humanity. But I think it's because of your humanity that you made it through. You wouldn't have survived, much less come out the other end a hero, somebody who wants to do good if you didn't have a light inside you." 

Oliver smiled softly and looked at their hands. "A hero, huh?"

Barry smiled brightly at him and stepped closer. "You're definitely a hero, Oliver Queen. You're my hero," He whispered and pressed a kiss to his head. 

“God, you’re cheesy,” Oliver said and leaned into him, gripping his waist as he relied on Barry to keep him standing. They only pulled apart when they heard a pair of heels coming their way.

Felicity looked apologetic when she came around the corner. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting. I ran facial recognition on Harkness and got a match."

Oliver looked at Barry who nodded. Barry would be there for him when this was all over. "Where is he?"

~*~*~

It was just Barry and Oliver that went to the station to confront Harkness. Once Barry flashed the civilians to safety he ran Oliver over and the pair stood side by side as they faced him. Oliver raised his bowm his eyes never leaving Harkness. "Get on the ground."

"Now why would I want to do that?" He asked, a smile still on his face from watching at the people around him had been carted off.

"You hurt a friend of mine. You really think there's anywhere in the world you could run that we won't find you?"

"Hm - probably not. Which is why I have a contingency in place." Barry and Oliver tensed slightly, but they both stayed focused on Harkness. "Five bombs planted throughout Starling. Now you can stop me or you can stop the bombs, but you can't do both." He smirked and raised his hand that held the trigger. "Bombs are armed. In 90 seconds this city will be on fire."

Barry looked at Oliver for the call. "Go."

Oliver continued his stare down with Harkness before rapidly firing two arrows at him. He managed to dodge the first couple of boomerangs that were launched at him and when he saw another getting ready to be thrown he flipped off one of the columns and let out a grunt as it exploded behind him. With Harkness temporarily distracted by the small blast, Oliver

launched at him knowing that if he could get the fight to close quarters he would have the upper hand. A few well aimed punches and kicks later Harkness was thrown against a barrier. Oliver didn't hesitate to fire an arrow and pin the man by his neck. 

He kept an arrow on Harkness, just in case he tried anything and listened as Barry and the others tried to figure out a way to disarm the bombs. He felt his stomach sinking as he listened to them.

"Stop the countdown!" Oliver demanded.

"Go to hell."

"Last chance!"

Harkness smirked. "Or what? You're going to inflict pain? I can tell you've done it before so let me ask you this. Why are you hesitating?"

Oliver watched him, his teeth clenched. 

"Ten more seconds. Should be able to see at least, oh, three explosions from here," Harkness taunted and looked around, waiting for the fires and the screams. Oliver lowered his arm when nothing happened. "You think you've accomplished something here? You think you not killing me makes you strong? It just means you're weak," He sneered.

Oliver heard the faint crackle of lightning as Barry arrived. "It means I have some humanity left." He turned and walked towards Barry but saw the look on his face and turned, firing an arrow into Harkness's hand. 

"You just couldn't resist, could you?"

Oliver smiled and they both accompanied A.R.G.U.S. as they escorted Harkness into custody. 

*~*~*

" - well you could be if you realized you were working out of a night club." Oliver walked into the foundry with Barry, clasping Cisco on the shoulder as he walked past and interrupting the rant that he was on. "Oh, did you guys take care of business?"

"Digger Harkness is now cellmates with one Slade Wilson."

"We've got a pipeline, he's got a gorgeous tropical island," Barry said sighing.

Felicity snorted from her chair. "With the landmines. It's a long story," She added when she saw Barry make a face.

"What's this?" He asked when he saw a new case with a mannequin in it. Oliver smiled as Barry walked over to it.

"Oliver had me put that in while you guys were at the hospital."

"Wait, this is for me?" He asked and looked at Oliver. 

He smiled warmly and he could feel the lines around his eyes crinkle. "For the next time you're in town."

"There'll be a next time?" He asked, his smile bigger.

"I'm still calling the shots." Oliver kept his arms folded over his chest. Barry and Felicity could see the happiness in his eyes as they bantered.

"We'll talk about that." Barry looked away from Oliver and back to his case.

"Yes, we will. And then I'll call the shots." The pair smiled at each other, Barry letting out a soft, breathy laugh.

"We got a gift for you too, Oliver. Early Christmas present. Turns out S.T.A.R. Labs industrial fabricator was based out of Starling so - "

"Whoa."

"Polymer-kevlar weave. Its 25 percent lighter and can carry 15 percent more gear. I got some designs I'm working up that I'm really excited by," Cisco said and stepped out of the way so Oliver could get a closer look.

"It's ah - subtle." Oliver held up the jacket, testing the weight of it in his hands

"I wanted to replace the hood but Felicity said it had sentimental value."

"Thank you," Oliver said sincerely and Team Flash smiled.

"Anytime."

"You guys headed back?" Roy asked.

"It's possible that Dr. Wells didn't sign off on us leaving town." Caitlin made a guilty face but shrugged.

"Hey, do you still take the train?" Barry looked over at Roy after he asked the question.

"Yeah, sure, if I feel like taking a nap. But Oliver and I have some unfinished business to take care of first."

"You guys aren't going to punch each other, are you?" Caitlin asked, looking at the pair. They smiled at each other and Felicity snorted before turning it into a cough.

~*~*~

"You could have invited everybody. They'd like this." Barry walked right next to Oliver into the large, empty warehouse. Nothing but steel columns scattered throughout the building to hold up the roof.

"They'd love this, but this is just for the two of us."

"You mean the one of you. This was your idea."

"You can't expect me to believe that you don't want to know, once and for all, who would win. Me or you?" Oliver said, smiling and Barry couldn't help but smile at the joy on Oliver's face. 

"You mean if you don't shoot me in the back?"

"You got to get over that, Barry," he laughed.

"Okay, I have super powers, you have arrows that run out," Barry said, trying to reason with him

"I have strategy and tactical awareness."

"When I'm fighting you, it's like you're literally standing still."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Tough talk - you ready to back it up?"

"Oh yeah, by the way?"

"Yeah?"

"You were wrong." Barry smirked at the look of indignation on Oliver's face. "When you told me I could inspire people you said you couldn't. But you were wrong. You can inspire people, not as the arrow, that guy's a douche." The laugh that came from Oliver made Barry smile. "But as Oliver Queen."

"Thank you," He said looking down and clearing his throat. "Since we're sharing, you were wrong too."

"When?"

"Right now. Because you think you can kick my ass. I can tell."

"All right. well if you think you can kick mine you better do it fast."

"I get it Barry. I get it, you're fast. Ready?"

"Set."

Oliver fired arrows in rapid succession, planning an attack while Barry caught them before running at him.

~*~*~

Barry helped Oliver back into the foundry and set him on a futon that was tucked into the corner. "I'll go grab something to eat while you change. Unless you need help."

Oliver huffed and kicked his boots off. "You won, but I've had worse, Barry. I'll be fine."

With Barry gone Oliver changed and checked out the damage in a mirror. Considering the fight, the bruises weren't bad; Barry had been holding back this time. The bruises from when the speedster was affected by Bivolo had been much worse and were just beginning to fade. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and the long sleeved henley he'd been wearing earlier and

laid back, waiting for Barry to show back up.

True to his name, he wasn't waiting long. Barry came in with a couple bags from a 24 hour restaurant. "So, I may have placed an order online while we were on our way back."

Oliver laughed softly and sat up, helping him spread the food out so they both could pick at things.

Barry took another bite of fried rice and watched Oliver's face. "What's on your mind?"

The older man sipped his drink and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I wasn't on the island all five years. I was in Russia for part of it. And China. That's where I first dealt with A.R.G.U.S." Oliver didn't open his eyes as he explained what the virus had done. He still didn't open his eyes when he told Barry about the first time he tortured someone using his bow and arrows.

"Amanda Waller wanted me to get information from a man. He'd planted a bomb somewhere in Hong Kong and it was my job to get him to tell us where he had hidden it. I asked, nearly begged for him to tell me where it was. I finally picked up the bow and my hands were shaking so bad that even he noticed it. 

"It felt different, torturing him for information when no one I knew was on the line. I asked him again and I had my arrow pointed at his leg when the bomb went off. Barry I could hear the screams and the flames...I'm not sure how high up I was but I could barely see the top of them." He wiped his eyes and looked down, not ready to face him yet. He couldn't until he finished telling the story. 

"Once the initial shock had passed I shot him, right in the heart and I felt no regret. I still don't. Waller made me walk the scene. Told me who some of the people were, the people that I had failed to save. Buildings were still burning." Oliver looked up at him and Barry was directly in front of him, his hand resting on his leg. "She brought me back to that building and brought someone else in, offered me redemption. I didn't even hesitate."

"Ollie - "

"You deserve so much more than this, Barry. I'm not me anymore. I meant what I said when I feel like I'm more Arrow than Oliver Queen anymore. You have so, so much light in you. And I know you think I have some - "

Barry covered his mouth with his hand to quiet him. "Because you do. You save people, Ollie. You saved me last week, you saved thousands of people. We can't always save everyone, sometimes we can't even save ourselves. That's why we have a team, to lean on. And it's part of the reason you and I are going to make this work. We need each other. We get it, what kind of toll this job takes on us. You and I...we don't have to be strong for each other, we can do this." He gestured at the pile of empty food containers and the equally empty foundry.

"We can do this with each other. Vent for however long and however we need to. I'm not going to let you sink so far down that you get lost in the Arrow. I admire the Arrow as a protector, as a hero, but you're the one I want to be with Ollie."

Oliver smiled softly. It turned into a laugh when Barry practically bowled him over in his rush to hug him. He wrapped his arms around him and kissed his head while Barry nuzzled into his neck. "Hey," Oliver said softly and Barry looked up. He leaned down and kissed Barry, starting out soft and slow, letting it build naturally. Oliver ran his tongue over Barry's lips and when he felt the younger man moan something seemed to light in him. 

He rolled them over and let their legs slot together. The kiss became heated quickly and Oliver ran one hand under Barry's shirt while the other held some of his weight up so he didn't completely crush Barry. Barry moved his hand and they both laughed when they heard the crinkle of a plastic bag.

"One sec," Barry said and suddenly was out from under Oliver and the mess was cleaned up. He skid to a stop in front of the futon and smiled. "So, where were we?"

Oliver smirked and pulled him down, going for his neck instead of his lips. He nipped the skin where his neck and shoulder met and the whine and him bite down just a little harder.

"Ollie," Barry panted out and flipped them quickly. He kissed Oliver deeply, sliding his tongue against the archer's as soon as the opportunity presented itself. He lowered himself so he was pressed more firmly against Oliver only to get off of him just as quickly when Oliver winced. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, come back here."

Barry looked at his face before shoving his shirt up and winced at the sight. "You told me I didn't hurt you too badly."

"I've had worse." Oliver reminded him.

"I know you have some numbing lotion, I'm going to grab it and take care of these bruises. Then you're resting."

Oliver groaned and closed his eyes. "I hate you, so much right now." He smiled when Barry laughed as he walked away.

"That's a lie, Mr. Queen."

He smiled gently and pulled his shirt off and rolled over. Oliver knew that he had issues and he knew more of them would rear their ugly heads and would make him question who he was and if he deserved this - if he deserved any sort of happy ending. He yawned almost as soon as Barry started taking care of the bruises and the small abrasions that he had accumulated over the last couple of days. Oliver wasn't sure if he deserved it, but he knew he wanted it. And he wasn't letting it go without one hell of a fight.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.
> 
> Like I mentioned in the first part, I plan on covering all the major crossovers, but if there is an episode you'd like me to do, please feel free to let me know!


End file.
